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Tag Archives: Realm
Welcome to Realm Central
Welcome to Realm Central, Friend. I am so pleased you found me.
It’s been a happy, crazy time here as my first novel, Realm, has been published. I’m excited to share it with you as your support throughout my writing process has proved to be most valuable. For that, I thank you.
I’ve provided an easy way to link to my novel, Realm, for the sake of purchase. As indicated, it’s available in hardcover, paperback, and eBook through BookBaby, so you can choose your favorite format.
As always, following me is quite easy. Take advantage of the sign-up via e-mail directly on the Home page or click the +Follow button hovering in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. In addition to my blog, there are various ways for us to become better acquainted. I can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.
I sincerely hope you’ll join us in the Realm. I look forward to getting to know you better.
HL Gibson, Author
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Realm Unboxed
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Realm Cover Reveal
Thank you to everyone who showed interest in and support for my upcoming novel, Realm. The response was encouraging, so without further ado, allow me to present the front cover.
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To Reveal or Not to Reveal?
Hello, Realmers! Please use the social media buttons to share this video directly from my blog. The goal is twenty-five shares, and then I’ll upload the cover of Realm. Thank you for your support! ~HL Gibson
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Realm Walk with Me
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Navigate the Realm
As with any new venture, there are often a whole host of things one must learn quickly. Such has been my experience with publishing my upcoming novel, Realm.
Ever since the beginning of the year, my life has been an exciting and scary mixture of “hurry up and do this” and/or “twiddle my thumbs and wait.” Every e-mail from BookBaby that lands in my inbox has evoked both elation and fear. I don’t know why I’m a ninny about such things because I have great assistance from BookBaby as well as a host of amazing, supportive friends and family members.
Anyhow, one of the neatest things I have learned during the whole process has been about metadata. I don’t know about you, but beyond hearing the term metadata, I honestly had no idea what its purpose was or how to use it. That is until it became an integral part of not only publishing my novel but making sure it was easily searchable.
I am proud to announce that the metadata for Realm has been optimized!
Seriously, folks—this is one of the first and easiest things I had to do toward the production of Realm. And now that I’m an expert on it, I feel compelled to share with you just in case, like me, you are unaware of how important metadata really is.
Metadata is data that provides information about other data but not the content of the data, such as the text of a message or the image itself. Descriptive metadata is descriptive information about a resource. It is used for discovery and identification. It includes elements such as title, author, and keywords.
The etymology of the term metadata consists of two words, one Greek and one Latin. First, the Greek word meta, which means after or beyond, and second, the Latin word datum, which means datum, the singular for data. Therefore, the expression metadata means beyond the data. Metadata is a fairly new word, it appeared in the second half of the 20th century, while data dates back to the middle of the 17th century. Are you impressed yet?
By this point, you’re either zoning out because this is irrelevant to your life right now, panicky because you’re about to publish, too, and metadata is probably in your near future, or scratching your head because there is something about metadata that is familiar.
That’s because you’ve been using metadata longer than you realized. This invaluable resource didn’t always bear such a fancy name and wasn’t always digitalized. Remember using something like what is pictured below to locate books in the library whether for pleasure reading or for the purpose of writing a report on a subject assigned by your teacher?
Yep, that’s right. A card catalog is a repository for metadata. All those brilliantly conceived little cards bearing information such as author’s name, book title, subject matter, and key words in case you can’t remember the first three are a basic form of metadata. Personally, I miss the soft, wooden click of the drawers closing as I moved between them in search of a book.
Although you’ll probably never search for my novel in an old-fashioned card catalog, I’ll still provide you with all the optimized metadata to ensure you’ll find my book.
Title: Realm
Author: HL Gibson
Main Subject: FICTION
Subgenre: Christian/Futuristic
Keywords: Adventure, Christian, Faith, Fantasy, Futuristic, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction
Publisher: BookBaby
Imprint: Bezalel Media
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Journey Through the Realm
I feel as if a hearty “Welcome Back” is required with this post, but it would be for me! Thank you, faithful following of readers, for your patience during what is turning out to be an extremely busy time for me as I sort my way through the various steps of production for my novel, Realm.
What began as a little spark of an idea has become a big dream come true. I promised updates, so here’s where we are so far:
Metadata optimization is complete. I admit that a quick search on Google backed up by a discussion with the patient, brilliant team at BookBaby helped me understand exactly what metadata is as well as why it’s necessary that it be optimized. Once it’s available for purchase, my book will be easily found.
Interior Design Proof. Wow – BookBaby did an amazing job with the interior design of my novel. As I scrolled through the .pdf in the two-page layout view, I kept whispering to myself, “It’s a book . . . it’s a real book.” The title page and the first page of each chapter were just perfect, and seeing my work portrayed so professionally thrilled me to the point of happy dancing around my kitchen. There were a few tweaks that I requested, so as horrible as it sounds, I had to choose “reject proof” and shoot it back to BookBaby. I’m confident that the minor details will be ironed out quickly.
Cover Design Proof. This was a tear-inducing moment when everything I conveyed to BookBaby was made a reality on the cover of my book. The picture they provided included the spine and the back cover as well. Again, all I can say is, “Wow.” I requested a minor modification on one small section, which required the painful choice of “reject proof,” but still, I was extremely pleased with how BookBaby captured my vision for the cover.
So, as the Design Team goes back to work on a few things, I have turned my attention to marketing research. What a trip that has been sifting through the “dos and don’ts” and “run screaming” world of marketing.
Stay tuned for more exciting Realm updates, and as always, thank you for taking this journey with me.
~HL Gibson
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Step Into the Realm
Have you ever longed for a dream project to become a reality all the while living in a state that hovers somewhere between excitement and fear? If so, then you’re probably an artist. And if you’re an artist, then you know that talking about what you’re going to do is where creativity goes to die and fear to thrive.
For writers, we often talk about all the great stories we’re going to write. Many of us even have a notebook devoted to story ideas where we jot them down so we can pretend to stay focused on our WIP. Then one day, when the guilt gets to be too much, we make the commitment to not just set aside time for writing but actually write.
We attend writers’ groups, join online writing communities, and scour the Internet for writing advice all in the hopes of producing a piece of writing worthy of publication. There are good days and bad days, and then one day, it all pays off.
Stepping out in faith has been a large part of my writing process, and I’d say finding an excellent beta reader was where it started. I have been blessed to have a beta reader who catches my mistakes, asks the right questions to keep my plot on course, and challenges me to see things from a different perspective. He also provides amazing feedback and encouragement.
Then there’s my editor, who is a Godsend. When I was feeling my most resistant to completing my own dream, she entered the picture as an answer to prayer. Her expertise and energy never cease to amaze me. Combined with my beta reader, I have two people in my corner who often believe in me more than I believe in myself.
My blessings don’t end there. My husband has been through every high and every low of the writing process with me. I know I sometimes take him for granted, but as soon as I remember, I express my gratitude. He’s so compassionate and forgiving that occasionally I agree with my mother: I don’t deserve him.
My son lies on the other end of the spectrum from my husband, but that’s not a bad thing. Sometimes, his tougher approach riled me up, but it made me strive to be a better writer and prove to the little upstart that I could finish. Besides, what kind of parental example would I be setting if I didn’t complete what I started, which is the whole point of this post.
It is my very great pleasure to announce that my novel, Realm, is officially in production.
Thank you, dear followers, for taking this journey with me. Stay tuned for all the exciting updates.
~HL Gibson
hl gibson, author 